Discovery Bay (Jefferson County Bay)
Discovery Bay '''(also known as '''Port Discovery) is a bay in Jefferson County, Washington. A community of the same name is located at the southern end of the bay. This body of water was also historically called Port Discovery Geography Discovery Bay is a small bay adjoining the Strait of Juan de Fuca on the Olympic Peninsula. The bay enters the Strait of Juan de Fuca between the Miller and Quimper Peninsulas. The bay's mouth is just south of Protection Island, a small federally protected nature preserve. Discovery Bay is 6–7 miles in length, and a bit over a mile wide at its mouth. It is fed by Snow Creek, among other small watercourses. History Native people – the Klallam (locally: S'Klallam) people – have occupied the lands around the Strait of Juan de Fuca for a long time, including locations on Discovery Bay. Most native populations on the Olympic Peninsula were relocated to reservations during the 19th and early 20th centuries, leaving only scattered individuals of native descent still residing on the bay. The Spanish explorers Manuel Quimper (hence: Quimper Peninsula) and Gonzalo López de Haro in the Princesa Real are the first known Europeans to find and map the bay of Port Discovery. They were sent to explore the Strait of Juan de Fuca by Francisco de Eliza in 1790. The Spanish named the bay Puerto Quadra, after Juan Francisco de la Bodega y Quadra.4 In 1792, George Vancouver's exploration of the area provided names for Discovery Bay and Port Discovery. A landing party put ashore along the west shore of the bay near what is now Contractor's Point to fill water barrels from the creek there. Today, a sign alongside of Highway 101 above the site of the landing commemorates the event. In 1858, the S. L. Mastick Company of San Francisco established the Port Discovery Mill on the western shore of the bay, at what today is called "Mill Point." The old growth timber on the steep hillsides above the mill were felled, slid down to the sawmill, milled into lumber and loaded from the wharf to ships for other ports. A village grew around the mill to house its employees. The peak population of the community, in the late 19th century, was in the hundreds. Port Discovery remained an important coastal port well into the 20th century, and was visited by many Pacific Ocean vessels. The U.S. Federal Census of 1860 designated Port Discovery as one of three enumeration districts in Jefferson County. The indigenous people were not counted for this census. The total population was 70 and all but one were males between the ages of 20 and 52 years old. The one female was married to a cook and the only non-white person counted was an African-American male cook. Two thirds of the population were American-born, all of which had migrated west from other states. Of the third that were foreign born, all but one were from England, Ireland, Wales, or Canada. The exception was born in Sweden. Another major mill community was established at the foot of the bay, where the town of Maynard grew. The Maynard mill continued in operation until the 1970s, and was responsible for the several nearby small communities mentioned above. The abandoned sawmill was a popular sight for tourists, and appeared in many nostalgic area photographs and paintings. Category:Natural Landmarks Category:Bay Category:Geography Category:Jefferson County Category:Washington State Wiki